Prepared for a Wedding but Not a Marriage

You’re just (about) married. 

The relationship has continued to progress where you are considering the possibilities of what could be next. Whether you are dating for keeps, contemplating a proposal, or planning a wedding as an engaged couple, you are at least closer today to a unified reality than you were yesterday. The fact that you are even reading this page implies that you are seriously considering one of the most life-changing decisions a person can ever make.

So, you are just (about) married but not yet. Have you ever considered what must happen before that day? Of course, you know that you must make ceremony choices, design decisions, and honeymoon holds, but have you ever considered the most critical component? It’s the actual marriage. After the wedding event, you will be seated next to your spouse in a departure vehicle, embarking on a new life together. What will life look like in the following years once the event is over? 

You must prepare for a marriage rather than just plan for a wedding.

You have a lifelong relationship with one another to address once you move past your wedding day on the calendar. As couples leave their wedding reception, the bridal party adorns the getaway vehicle, typically with glaring evidence of the newly-formed union. Driving off to their honeymoon, other carloads within proximity are fully aware through decorations or even a message plastered upon the rear window that this couple is “just married.” Even though others may not personally know the couple in the car, they know that life changed irreversibly for those in the vehicle moments ago. Depending upon the onlooker’s perspective, some will feel nostalgia regarding their wedding day. In contrast, others will pity the couple for embarking upon something that deeply caused personal pain in their own lives.

Many people were “just married” at some point, but they aren’t together now. Some marriages make it, but others don’t. When you mention your potential marriage to others, you may hear very different reactions based on their personal experiences. Those varied reactions prove why it is crucial to learn before beginning a marriage of your own. You are probably aware that an alarmingly high percentage of marriages end in divorce. While there are many reasons why that happens, the unifying issue is that one or both parties failed to apply God-given wisdom in their relationship.

Despite what many say, the One who created marriage unquestionably knows best how it should be carried out.